Fighting in Hell: The German Ordeal on the Eastern Front - Softcover

Peter Tsouras

Softcover

ISBN 10: 1848326513 ISBN 13: 9781848326514

Publisher: Frontline Books, 2012

Synopsis

The German war in Russia was so brutal in all its extremes that all past experiences paled beside it. Everything in Russia - the land, the climate, the distances and above all the people - were harder, harsher, more unforgiving and more deadly than anything the German soldier had ever faced before. One panzer-grenadier who fought in the West and in Russia summed it up: In the West war was the same honourable old game; nobody went out of his way to be vicious, and fighting stopped often by five in the afternoon. But in the East, the Russians were trying to kill you - all the time. The four detailed reports of campaigning in Russia included in this invaluable book (Russian Combat Methods in WWII, Effects of Climate on Combat in European Russia, Combat in Russian Forests and Swamps and Warfare in the Far North) were written in the late 1940s and early 1950s, as part of the US Army programme to record the German strategies and tactics of World War II directly from the commanders. The authors were all veterans of the fighting they described, and frankly admitted that the soldiers sent to Russia were neither trained nor equipped to withstand the full fury of the elements there. The German high command had been under the impression that the Red Army could be destroyed west of the Dnepr, and there would be no need for conducting operations in cold, snow and mud. Fighting in Hell shows what really happened, through first-hand accounts of the commanders who were there.

About this title

Review:

This annotated collection of original documents about German preparations for, and reaction to, the D-Day invasion, is invaluable to any serious student of the Second World War.
Craig L. Symonds, author of "Neptune: The Allied Invasion of Europe and the D-Day Landings""

Much of this book relies on eyewitness accounts, providing powerful testimony to the Germans lack of preparation for the harsh climatic conditions of the Russian winter.
"Military Machines International"
For anybody with a serious interest in this particular struggle, [these reports] are an invaluable source of information coming from a primary and well-informed source.
"Military Modelcraft International""

"Much of this book relies on eyewitness accounts, providing powerful testimony to the Germans' lack of preparation for the harsh climatic conditions of the Russian winter."
--Military Machines International

"For anybody with a serious interest in this particular struggle, [these reports] are an invaluable source of information coming from a primary and well-informed source."
--Military Modelcraft International

From the Back Cover:

On 22 June 1941, the German army invaded the Soviet Union, one hundred fifty divisions advancing on three axes in a surprise attack that overwhelmed and destroyed whatever opposition the Russians were able to muster. The German High Command was under the impression that the Red Army could be destroyed west of the Dniepr River and that there would be no need for conducting operations in cold, snow, and mud. They were wrong.

In reality, the extreme conditions of the German war in Russia were so brutal that past experiences simply paled before them. Everything in Russia -- the land, the weather, the distances, and above all the people -- was harder, harsher, more unforgiving, and more deadly than anything the German soldier had ever faced before.

Based on the recollections of four veteran German commanders of those battles, Fighting in Hell describes in detail what happened when the world's best-publicized "supermen" met the world's most brutal fighting. It is not a tale for the squeamish.

About this edition

• Publisher: Frontline Books
• Publication date: 2012
• ISBN 10: 1848326513
• ISBN 13: 9781848326514
• Binding: Paperback
• Number of pages: 288
• Editor: Peter Tsouras